Let's get the first trash talk out of the way: My Patriots are gonna crush this year. Brady's back, healthy, and he's got Moss and Welker now in their 3rd year in the system. Gonna get ugly for the defenses out there. And I'm *so* excited that we're turning the defense over to the young studs Meriweather and Mayo - and don't forget Adalius!

Lifelong Pats fan here also, We have a very good chance to go all they way again although I think 14-2 may be a reach. I will say 12-4, The offense may break their own NFL scoring record this year and from what the secondary looks like so far they will have to. I think the def. will be alright in the end but the 1st 6 games or so I think are going to be high scoring shootouts. But in Bill we trust, I think he has earned it, I was shocked to see Seymour traded but ya have to believe Bill saw something he did not like.

I feel bad for Seymour having to play in that joke of an organization. Poor guy.

As far as I know, my Giants still have a decent shot. We'll see how good Eli really is when he doesn't really have anyone to throw to. The defense should still be pretty solid. Should be an interesting season, looking forward to the first game.

That steelers tennessee game was amazing. You'd expect nothing less from two defensive powerhouses, though i dont know what happened to tennessee in overtime...they just got run over.

__________________
"Defeat is crowned by Success, Only if you Persist."

AFC – EastPatriots: The question is how will Brady hold up? I’m skeptical, and I can see him having some trouble with his leg. But then again, Brady has never been a physical player, his game is mental, so the drop off should be minor. They should still take the division, even if it’s not with 14 to 16 wins.

Jets: Everyone is enamored by the fact that the Falcons and Ravens both were able to have success with rookie HCs and rookie QBs, and hope that will somehow rub off the on Jets. But the Falcons and Ravens last year were huge exceptions to the norm. I think if the Jets get to 7 or 8 wins, they should call that a major success.

Bills: They’ve fired their OC, cut their starting LT, and canned a decent RB, all in the past week or so. Can you say picking early in April?

Dolphins: They find themselves with the question that the Jets faced every year. If Pennington stay’s healthy, they make the playoffs. If Pennington gets injured, they don’t. And with Brady back in the Pats, they’ll have trouble holding that tie-breaker that let them win the division last season. The question is which Pennington to they get this year? The wining version or the injured version? Odds say Pennington can’t do it two seasons in a row, and the Phins miss the playoffs.

AFC - NorthSteelers: Still the best team in the division. Yes, their O-line is a mess, and it will be a struggle to hold it all together all season long, but no one really offers them much of a challenge for the division. Then they’re faced with the question of can they hold it together enough to get through the playoffs.

Ravens: Flaco is set for a let down now that teams have a full year of tape on him. Still, their defense should keep them in the race, and that gives them a decent shot at the division if the Steelers struggle for even a single game.

Bengals: The question is how much more does Marvin Lewis have to screw up to get himself fired?

Browns: They have pretty much nothing to look forward to, other than that they get to play the Bengals for the title of worst team in Ohio. Will Quinn finally take over at starter? Will they ever trade away Quin or Anderson? Will anyone care come December? Will Ohio forget they have two NFL teams?

AFC - South Titans: Hello let down city. Kerry Collins isn’t their long term answer, and they’ll regret re-signing him (not that they had much of a choice). Their D should still be solid, but it’s not going to give them the division on platter again. Their question will be what the heck are they doing to go with two highly paid sub-par QBs on their roster?

Colts: Losing Marvin Harrison is non-issue. His numbers last season were nothing special; they were on par with most teams #3 WR, and he’s long since been replaced by Wayne. A complete change in coaching staff is going to be different, but this was a friendly changing of the guard, not a blow out of pink slips, so the drop off should be minimal. No one is coming in an installing a whole new system for players to adjust too. They have some issues, and may not dominate the league, but 10+ wins shouldn’t be too difficult. But can they fend off the Texans?

Jaguars: This team loves to be mediocre. They make some impressive wins against good teams, and then fall apart. The question is does Jack Del Rio get shown the door this season, or can he pull enough smoke and mirrors to keep his job intact?

Texans: This team is no longer the punching bag of the league. With one of the best (if not the best) WR in the league, this is a team that will finally be in a play off hunt. The question is how far does that hunt take them?

AFC – WestChiefs: In 2008, most everyone agree they had the best draft. Now that it’s a year later, it’s time to see how that draft class can develop into a solid team. Some say Matt Cassel’s success in New England last year was due to the team around him and not his talent. Perhaps. But after making the trade, the Chief’s did not offer him a new contract right away, rather they waiting to see how he did in off season work outs and mini-camps. If Piloti thought enough to pay him,that is a sign something is going right there. They were my dark horse to make the playoffs, however firing their OC and having Cassel already inured doesn’t sound like an over .500 season to me.

Chargers: Rivers is on of the better QBs in the NFL right now, and this team is loaded with talent. But despite all this, they only went 8-8 last season and have always managed to screw things up. Still, they should win the division The question is in which round of the playoffs do they choke?

Raiders: Despite three years with high draft choices in a row, this team has failed to address their disaster of an O-line. A quick review of the last few weeks:
The HC has allegedly punched out an assistant.
J. Russel’s work ethic has been questioned.
Back up QB jeff Garcia has been out with an injury, and then was cut.
Every WR on the team has a question mark due to either injury or poor performance.
Their defense is the only thing that will prevent them from having the #1 overall pick in April.

Broncos: The big question surrounding the Broncos is how long until the fans try to run Josh McDaniels out of town? He’s already on the hot seat for running Cutler out of town. He hired Nolan as DC, who’s trying into install his infamous not-quite-a-3-4 defense. Their only hope is they play the Raiders twice.

NFC – EastNY Giants: With a strong running game, top defense, and QB who’s less prone to mistakes than he used to be, the G-Men are a top favorite to win the NFC-E, but I wouldn’t put much money on that.
Eagles: I don’t adding Vick is going to be a huge factor, other than it gives the team options if McNabb were to be injured. The Eagles are already facing injuries around the roster, but still, they always manage to pull something out to make the playoffs.
I more question if Reid can keep it together before he burns out. A wildcard, if not the division, should be there for them if they stay relatively healthy.

Cowpukes: Will just miss the playoffs by this “-“ much.

Redskins: The team has shown no faith in Jason Cambell as he enters a contract year. It would be hilarious if Cambell played really well, took the team deep into the playoffs, and then walked away on the team that didn’t believe in him. OK, I doubt it will happen, but it would still be hilarious if it happened.

NFC - NorthPackers: While critics still say the team would be better off with Favre, Rodgers actually outplayed his former starting QB last season. If their defense can stop being swiss cheese, they should take the division.

Bears: after what seems like an eternity, the team finally has some stability at QB. All signs point to a heated 3-way battle for dominance in their division. Do the Bears have enough? I wouldn’t count them out, but I wouldn’t put any money on them.

Vikings: I don’t buy in the Favre hype for several reasons:
1) He was terrible down the stretch last season
2) He missed all of camp, and doesn’t have much time to learn the playbook and develop chemistry with his team.
3) I don’t think his heart is in it enough for a full season.
Still, having one of the best (if not the best) RB in the league and a good defense will keep them in the division race, but rumors of a divided locker room implies they fall apart down the stretch.

Lions: The good news is most of the players and staff from last year’s 0-16 team are gone, so there should be no hang over from last year. The bad news is the Lions are basically an expansion team in a tough division. Good luck winning more than 4 games.

NFC – South Panthers: They gave Delhomme way too much money, and basically hoping what they did last year will be good enough for this year. Too bad for them their division foes are actually trying to get better.

Saints: They have one of the better offenses and worst defenses in the league. They’ll have a good season, but how good is going to depend on much their D drags them down.

Bucs: Appear to be rebuilding, won’t win the division but will play spoiler for their opponents down the stretch.

Falcons: With a year of tape on Ryan, the Falcons are not going to surprise teams like they did last year, but they have a better defense than the Saints, and are improving more than the Panthers. Is that enough to win the division?

NFC West:Seahawks: The Hawks were undone by injuries and a HC who was burned out last season. They are hoping starting healthy with new enthusiasm at the HC position will return them to winners of the west. They are also hoping Jim Mora Jr learned his lesson in Atl about what NOT to do as a head coach. The problem with the Hawks is they are really just trying to get back where they were a few years back when they won the West on a regular basis. The problem is (save 2005) they won the west with 9-7 or 10-6 records, by beating up weak 49er and Cardinals team. Take away 2 or 3 of those wins with an improved 49ers and Cards, and the Hawks are struggling to break .500. And a rash of early injuries before the season has even started does not help.

Cardinals: While most of the media is jumping on the last minute run in the playoffs last year, remember, in the regular season, they only went 9-7. They scored an amazing 427 total points over 16 games, but gave up 426 points, giving them an average margin of victory of 1/16th of a point. Statistically, they were a field goal away from going 7-9. They’ve made few efforts to upgrade their defense, and now have Billy Davis (the fired 49ers former DC) running their defense. While they will continue to score a lot of points, it’s going to be near impossible to go to the playoffs 2 years in a row while giving up that sheer volume of points. Also keep in mind, Kurt Warner has never started 16 games two seasons in a row at any point in his career. 7-9 is more realistic than another 9-7 season.

Rams: This team was terrible in every respect last season, and even some improvements isn’t going to get them more than 4 or 5 wins.

49ers: The team went 7-9 last, improving down the stretch. Not having Nolan holding them back should improve the team two more wins to 9-7, which will be enough to take this weak division. But while I expect the 49ers to win the division, they’ll sadly be blown out in the 1st game of the playoffs 40-3.

Let's get the first trash talk out of the way: My Patriots are gonna crush this year. Brady's back, healthy, and he's got Moss and Welker now in their 3rd year in the system. Gonna get ugly for the defenses out there. And I'm *so* excited that we're turning the defense over to the young studs Meriweather and Mayo - and don't forget Adalius!

Gonna crush it.

I'm gonna say 14-2 and I'm being conservative. Let's do this!

Yeah I also heard that the Cheatriots got a new video man just for Bradys return!!!!!!!!!

If you want to hang on to *them recording from the wrong part of the field* (you can record the coaches hand signals from other areas of the field just fine) that's fine. They went undefeated in the regular season that year after the *big scandal* (sarcasm).

Had a good season last year too without Brades in there.

Gonna be a romp.

Nhzoso - yeah the secondary is weak for the most part. I like having Springs out there. That's comforting. I still love (LOVE) my idea of putting Moss out there in red zone situations... especially in that goddamn SB situation...Why oh why was little 5'10" Hobbs on 6'5" Plax?...ugh...

Anyway - I think it'll be Pats vs either the Giants (rematch!) or GB. The Eagles will implode. McNabb will fall apart, Vick won't save them (although I am interested in *next* year for him) and Andy Reid is one of the worst coaches out there when it comes to crunch-time/meangingful games/situations.

If you want to hang on to *them recording from the wrong part of the field* (you can record the coaches hand signals from other areas of the field just fine) that's fine. They went undefeated in the regular season that year after the *big scandal* (sarcasm).

Had a good season last year too without Brades in there.

Gonna be a romp.

Nhzoso - yeah the secondary is weak for the most part. I like having Springs out there. That's comforting. I still love (LOVE) my idea of putting Moss out there in red zone situations... especially in that goddamn SB situation...Why oh why was little 5'10" Hobbs on 6'5" Plax?...ugh...

Anyway - I think it'll be Pats vs either the Giants (rematch!) or GB. The Eagles will implode. McNabb will fall apart, Vick won't save them (although I am interested in *next* year for him) and Andy Reid is one of the worst coaches out there when it comes to crunch-time/meangingful games/situations.

The Pats have and have had a CUPCAKE division.....just wait it might not be this year but one of the other team in the east will rise. The defense will be the weak point in the Pats this year!

I hate having to wait for Monday night. Hopefully Brady and Co. stay somewhat healthy so atleast the Steelers have to earn it this year and not have to pay off the ref's to beat the friggin Arizona Cardinal's again.

I hate having to wait for Monday night. Hopefully Brady and Co. stay somewhat healthy so atleast the Steelers have to earn it this year and not have to pay off the ref's to beat the friggin Arizona Cardinal's again.

I hate the Pats but somehow I just knew they would come back down by 11 with 5 minutes to go in the game....Brady is special.

And I think some off that payoff money went to the refs in the Chargers game. Isn't it a touchdown once your feet hit the ground and you have possesion....it doesn't matter what happens after that. I just knew the Raiders would get screwed AGAIN.

Go Tigers what am I gonna say Go Lions ah yea right looks like there starting where they left off 1 loss first season game so that's 0-17 now I always said if a Chevrolet owned the Lions they probably would have won a Super Bowl by now LOL or at least made it too the Playoffs more than once.

decent defense (at least for the first 3 quarters), offense had some spark (probly just need a better qb), outplayed the pats imo for the first three quarters.

Brady looked pretty good overall. for the first three quarters, i'd say he played like garbage. I dont know what happens to him in the 4th quarter of games, but for some reason he always steps up when given the chance. He got a big big big big break and he really took advantage of that quite well. The game winning throw was in such an amazing spot, and the TE (forgot his name) made such an amazing catch, it really looked quite pretty.

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"Defeat is crowned by Success, Only if you Persist."

decent defense (at least for the first 3 quarters), offense had some spark (probly just need a better qb), outplayed the pats imo for the first three quarters.

Brady looked pretty good overall. for the first three quarters, i'd say he played like garbage. I dont know what happens to him in the 4th quarter of games, but for some reason he always steps up when given the chance. He got a big big big big break and he really took advantage of that quite well. The game winning throw was in such an amazing spot, and the TE (forgot his name) made such an amazing catch, it really looked quite pretty.

The Pats were lucky, but so were the Bills with the fluke INT/TD, and the horrible horrible call on Wilfork. Also, Thomas's pile-driving tackle shouldn't be a penalty. Never seen anyone hurt on one of those - and because the players aren't supposed to do that - you get something like Eli's flukey SB Helmet Catch throw...Got away 3 times cuz the guys looked like they were worried about getting a flag...

Brady got back into form in the 4th quarter, but also, offensively, he looked like he was calling his own plays towards the end. Some awful playcalling offensively earlier. My buddy (Vikes fan) was sitting with me at the bar saying "gosh, looks like they're gonna dump it to Maroney here" - cue to Maroney getting the ball and losing 6 yards while getting crushed... Offense looked weird...

Hopefully, against the Jets, we'll just run 4 receivers out there and let Brady do his '07 thing! Hate the Jets!

Pats got lucky, but they also worked for that fumble. Bills were better than I expected.

The Pats might regret trading Seymour, because he was a beast with the Raiders, and made the Chargers look dumb for 59 minutes (even if the rest of the Raiders are still somewhat inept). Speaking of the Chargers, they played 59 minutes of horrible football, and 60 seconds of what everyone expected them to do; that's not going to get it going when the playoffs come around.

The Cardinals looked as expected: Not that good!

The Brocos got lucky, but are still going to be bad this year. The Bengals are still the Bungals.

I can't understand why the Vikes pried Favre out of retirement to just hand off the ball, and throw a 100 yard game. Any QB cold have done that. But then again, it was just the Browns.

The Jets looked like they might be better than I thought.

The media is getting a little too excited about the Cowboys. Wait until they play the Giants.

While most of the media is gushing over Flacco's impressive offensive performance, I'm wondering what ever happened to that great Raven's defense, given that a back up QB from a team that just fired their OC was able to score on the Ravens they way they did.

Chicago; Same ol'e story: great defense, sorry offense. I still think Green Bay is going take that division.

The Lions will win approx 4 or 5 games. Almost no one who was with the team last year is still there. Granted, New Orleans has a crappy defense, but Lions managed to put up 27 points on them. Last year the Lions never scored 27 (or more) points on anyone. In fact, when the Lions played the Saints last year, they only scored 7.

That's enough improvement to get a few wins as the season goes on, especially given they have both the Rams and Browns on their schedule. LOL.

Pats got lucky, but they also worked for that fumble. Bills were better than I expected.

The Pats might regret trading Seymour, because he was a beast with the Raiders, and made the Chargers look dumb for 59 minutes (even if the rest of the Raiders are still somewhat inept). Speaking of the Chargers, they played 59 minutes of horrible football, and 60 seconds of what everyone expected them to do; that's not going to get it going when the playoffs come around.

The Cardinals looked as expected: Not that good!

The Brocos got lucky, but are still going to be bad this year. The Bengals are still the Bungals.

I can't understand why the Vikes pried Favre out of retirement to just hand off the ball, and throw a 100 yard game. Any QB cold have done that. But then again, it was just the Browns.

The Jets looked like they might be better than I thought.

The media is getting a little too excited about the Cowboys. Wait until they play the Giants.

While most of the media is gushing over Flacco's impressive offensive performance, I'm wondering what ever happened to that great Raven's defense, given that a back up QB from a team that just fired their OC was able to score on the Ravens they way they did.

Chicago; Same ol'e story: great defense, sorry offense. I still think Green Bay is going take that division.

Uhh....cause they have the best RB in the league on their team....it'd be a dam shame if they didn't utilize that to its full potential.

I'm excited to see what the Jets can do. They looked a little more than half decent in that game.

The eagles are lookin good too. I really really wanna see vick play...I cant wait to see what they do with the wildcat with a (hopefully) fast quarterback and a pretty solid qb.

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"Defeat is crowned by Success, Only if you Persist."

The Lions will win approx 4 or 5 games. Almost no one who was with the team last year is still there. Granted, New Orleans has a crappy defense, but Lions managed to put up 27 points on them. Last year the Lions never scored 27 (or more) points on anyone. In fact, when the Lions played the Saints last year, they only scored 7.

That's enough improvement to get a few wins as the season goes on, especially given they have both the Rams and Browns on their schedule. LOL.

I don't think they'll be picking #1 overall 2 years in a row.

Thanks that's the optimism I wanna hear. All the Lions fans are gonna celebrate when they get there first win almost as much as if they went post season LOL...............almost

While most of the media is gushing over Flacco's impressive offensive performance, I'm wondering what ever happened to that great Raven's defense, given that a back up QB from a team that just fired their OC was able to score on the Ravens they way they did.

if they get back to their savagery - they are one the most fearsome defenses in the league - and they finally have a playmaker in Flacco, he's not perfect but he's got a pile of potential - reminds me of a young Favre...

I don't really care about the patriots except for when people who don't live in new england or are not from new england say they are patriots fans. Then I call them a bandwagon (Thats pretty much every good team for me, hint hint wink wink steelers fans). I all really have to say is that the Redskins are going to be at least 9-7 this year and make the playoffs. BRING IT ON!!!!!!

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Praise him on the loud cymbals: praise him on the high sounding cymbals. Psalms 150:5

Redskins: The team has shown no faith in Jason Cambell as he enters a contract year. It would be hilarious if Cambell played really well, took the team deep into the playoffs, and then walked away on the team that didn’t believe in him. OK, I doubt it will happen, but it would still be hilarious if it happened.

Dude, only people outside of D.C. are saying that and it's all thanks to ESPN. We've had like 10 interviews with Jason and all he says now is that he wants to make an impact. He has said about 10 times that he is fine now.

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Praise him on the loud cymbals: praise him on the high sounding cymbals. Psalms 150:5

Dude, only people outside of D.C. are saying that and it's all thanks to ESPN. We've had like 10 interviews with Jason and all he says now is that he wants to make an impact. He has said about 10 times that he is fine now.

Of course he wants to make an impact. He's in a contract year on a team that has tried to replace him twice. If he doesn't make an impact, he knows he's going to be back up somewhere else next season.

The wheels are coming off the Patriots bus. Trading Seymour after having already lost so many defensive players is turning into a huge mistake. Their D is sinking to average, and the offense suddenly canít make up for it. I wonít count them out, but suddenly, them winning the division is no longer automatic.

The Jets and Bills are both better than I expected, which making the AFC-E suddenly a lot more interesting.

The AFC-N goes through Baltimore now.
After this season Eric Mangini may never work in the NFL again.

The Chargers are frauds.
Denver is the worst 2-0 team in the league.
The Raiders and Chiefs are both in trouble. Itís almost sad someone has to win the division out of default.

Iím not surprised the Titans are 0-2. Colts lead the division.

Eli Manning may not be the best QB, but heís as cool as ice under pressure, marching the Giants down the filed to a game winning FG as time was running out. With McNabb out, the NFC-E goes through New York right now.

Tony Romo: threw 3 picks this week, oh where is the media to gush about his greatness now?

Iím not so sure Favre isnít still retired. Hand off, dump pass, hand off. Heís 30th in passing yards, which will drop to 31 if Pennington throws more than 89 yards tonight.

My expectation that Green Bay is going to take the NFC-N is in seriously jeopardy if they canít find some pass protection.

Donít worry Lions: I still think the Browns and Rams will be worse than you at the end of the season.

Speaking of the Rams: Theyíve only scored 7 points, making them dead last in the NFL in points scored.

The Saints have scored 93 total points so far; which is 24 more points than the #2 most scoring team, the Ravens.

The Cardinals have proven to be the same bi-polar team they were last season: the play like crap one week and play like an elite team the next.

If the Seahawks and Panthers could go back in time to last April, I think theyíd both wish they had taken a QB for the future right about now.